Friday, September 16, 2011

let the season begin (insert accordian solo here).

My morning run & Belle and Sebastian's I'm a Cuckoo were
interrupted by a brief phone call from one of my favorite girlfriends,
who I call Mama Fox (she some-of-the-times refers to me as the Runaway
Bunny & other times Peter Pan). I used the opportunity to stretch
and cool down when a box labeled POETRY hanging from a wrought iron gate
caught my eye. I peeked inside as I confirmed plans on the phone &
pulled out an atomic green sheet of paper w/ not one but TWO poems (!!)
printed in black. While saying goodbye to the other end of the line I
folded up the pen-to-paper tangos, and then bolted down E Aloha
(imagining that I was not running, but rather swinging through lush
canopy formed by the trees on either side of the street-- these are the
thoughts that keep my feet moving when I am tired from the previous
mileage).

The last stanza of the second poem (both written by a man called Gary Snyder), read:

I pledge allegience to the soil of Turtle Islandand to the beings who thereon dwellone ecosystemin diversityunder the sunWith joyful interpenetration for all.

The first two lines of the piece, entitled For All, are "Ah to be alive/ on a mid-September morn".
The sentiment is so relevant-- one I felt as my lungs filled with crisp
almost-autumn air and then again with ev'ry exhalation... and one I
felt
yesterday while I visited Towan & he came over to the glass to show
me his chalk drawing. My heart beats a little quicker when I share a
moment like this with him. Mostly because he makes me feel like I'm not
the only ape that is excited to share little bits of beauty w/ people
nearby. That feeling of sameness is one of the more reassuring I've ever
felt. I
suppose I owe Mr. T and Gary Snyder a v.v. big Thank You! for providing
reminders of why
this mid-September is an especially lovely time to be living here in the
now.

The last day that I felt compelled to write, it was because of a
person I met who invites adventure into his life, who sees magic in the
tiniest places. When we are together strangers approach us for
conversation & he is always ready to engage a new face in the
Latest&Greatest. He is willing to allow a ten minute walk to take an
hour, because he understands that sometimes one must stop and absorb
ev'ry detail of this bustling world (& that takes time, takes
patience). He doesn't mind that when I see a dead bumblebee on the
sidewalk I have to pick it up and place it in a garden to rest in peace;
he doesn't mind that when I see a piece of neat graffiti that I am
compelled to photograph it and ponder the source; and most of all, he
doesn't mind that inevitably at some point during our daily excursions I
mention that I wish Towan could see ALL the things I see because I know
with all my heart he'd feel so inspired and just as in awe of how strangely golden the world is (and his reactions would no doubt fuel his art).

Interpenetration is a word I had not known before reading it in
Snyder's poem, but it is now one of my favorites. To wish for those
around you to experience the visceral joy of being one with their
environment and to take the time to be a part of whatever surrounds
them is laudable. I have nothing but respect for the people &
creatures who facilitate and encourage that experience. Towan lives at
the zoo, which means he is limited to what shows up at his door-step,
but! he never seems to miss a chance to investigate a novel garment or
an interesting visage.

Perhaps, it is his ability to appreciate the little things that allows him to deal with annoyances so stoically.
After showing me his art, he settled down to work on it some more. Bela
followed him and made a grab for one of his two pieces of chalk. While
her second attempt was successful, Towan did not seem to acknowledge her
trespass. His tolerance is admirable, but then again he has so many
traits that I admire and try to cultivate in my own self-- he is a
Bodhisattva if there ever was one.

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This blog is the work of SHAWN THOMPSON, writer, university professor and author of the 2010 book THE INTIMATE APE: Orangutans and the Secret Life of a Vanishing Species. Shawn is now continuing to spread the good word about orangutans and the other apes any way he can.He is member of the board of Gary Shapiro's charitable foundation The Orang Utan Republik and will help writers and organizations promoting orangutans. He is also available to speak without a fee to any group that is interested in orangutans. Shawn lives in Kamloops, British Columbia.